Citroen to drop EGS gearbox for large cars

Citroen plans to drop its controversial automated manual transmission from its next generation of large cars, including the hybrid version of the DS5, according to high-level sources.

The automated manual gearbox, called EGS, is most commonly sold on Citroen's small vehicles, including the C3. However, its jerky shifts have been an unpopular element of the DS4 and DS5 ranges, where it has been offered as an efficient automatic option on 'greener' editions, including the DS5 Hybrid4.

However, a senior source in the powertrain department of Citroen's parent company, PSA, has told What Car? that the next generation of the firm's larger cars will get the new automatic transmission that's just being introduced on this DS5. 'The new automatic transmission is the latest technology that we have,' said our source. 'We are already working on how it will work with the hybrid systems, because it's safe to say the next generation of the larger cars will switch to this transmission. The EGS will stay on, but on smaller cars only.'

The switch has been made possible because the latest edition of the conventional six-speed automatic transmission is much more efficient than the old unit. In the DS5 2.0-litre diesel model, for example, it helps to achieve CO2 emissions of 118g/km compared with the old set-up's figure of 154g/km.

Our source also said that while the DS5 could, theoretically, get the latest 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, it's not currently planned. 'The car could potentially take that engine,' he said. 'It would be a relatively straightforward installation because of shared chassis parts on the DS5. However, we don't have any immediate plans for that.' More than 97% of the 53,000 DS5s sold since its introduction in 2011 have been powered by diesel engines.